She sighs deeply as she walks through the front door, kicking it shut with her foot and then immediately steering for the kitchen. As if on cue, her stomach growls loudly and Jade walks over to the refrigerator, chucking her bag onto the kitchen table on her way over.

"Ah, look who the wind brought in."

Jade freezes when she hears the strange, but still so familiar voice. Her eyes go wide and she forces out a breath through her closing throat, a feeling like someone is choking her awakening inside of her. It couldn't be. He wasn't here, was she going crazy now? She turns, slowly, and her eyes widen at the sight of her smirking brother leaning on the doorway of the kitchen. Jade's heart picks up speed, she can hear it pounding in her ears, so loud, and she wonders if he can hear it too.

"Aiden."

Her breath gets stuck in her throat as her brother comes closer until he stands right in front of her, bending down to kiss her cheek. A hearty laugh escapes his mouth and he wraps his strong arms around his tense sister, hugging her close to him. His tight grip on her mixed with his cologne creeping up her nose almost suffocates her but she can't do anything but stay in his embrace, her arms hanging limply by her side. She doesn't want this, she wants to push him away, throw him out of the house. But she can't.

"You look like you've seen a ghost. Don't be so surprised."

When he finally releases her, Jade forces out a smile and tries to swallow the lump that steadily continues to grow in her throat. "Well, what do you expect? What are you doing here?"

Aiden smiles widely, his blue eyes crinkling as he looks at his little sister, completely oblivious to the inner war Jade was battling with. "I just wanted to visit my family. I really missed you guys." Jade nods and shoots him a nervous smile, not being able to say the same about her older brother. It had been so refreshing, to say the least, ever since Aiden went off to college. She didn't have to worry about anything. Of course she hadn't been so naïve to think that her life could abruptly change when her brother wasn't living at home anymore, but Jade did believe that it slowly could get better. But now, with Aiden standing right in front of her with the brightest smile imaginable, she realizes that it will never be as easy as she likes to picture it to be. She hopes that this is just a dream from which she would wake up at any second but when Aiden laughs again and envelopes her into another tight hug, she knows she's definitely not dreaming.

So Jade hesitantly raises her arms and carefully places them around her brother, her smile slipping from her face as a feeling she can only describe as fear settles deep into her stomach.

…

"Mom, it's really enough now. I'm gonna blow up if I eat any more!"

Jade silently watches her mom sit down again, the lips of the older woman raised in a loving smile. "I'm sorry. I'm just so happy that you came to visit us!"

There isn't a semester break. But of course her mom didn't question any further when Aiden had said that he was just taking a little time out before exams were coming up. It was stupid. But it was Aiden, and Aiden could tell their mother the most ridiculous lies and she would believe them without even blinking. It was one of his many gifts, to lie so convincingly that sometimes Jade thinks even he believes himself. It made Jade wonder if this was something she had picked up from him, if he was the reason she was such a good actress.

"I'm happy too, Mom." Aiden lets his eyes wander to Jade, who's sitting directly across from him, and gives her a small wink. She slightly smiles back at him, her eyes scanning his face, searching for something, anything, that would tell her why he really is here.

"Jade, do you want some more?"

Her eyes reluctantly shift to her mother. "No, I think I'm going up to my room," she says slowly, standing up. " I'm pretty tired."

"Oh man, are you sure? I thought we could catch up a little." She smiles at Aiden, hoping that it looked convincing enough to him. "We can do that tomorrow."

Aiden sighs and nods at her. "Okay, sis. Have a good night." Jade smiles one last time and after also bidding good night to her mother, she made her way upstairs and - for the first time in 5 years - she locks her door.

Just to be sure.

…

Beck busily scrams through his locker when he suddenly sees a figure appearing behind him out of the corner of his eye. He cranes his neck and – much to his surprise – finds big black boots, one of them tapping impatiently on the floor and he knows exactly who it is. He looks up from his position on the ground and blue eyes meet his brown ones.

"Hey…"

She doesn't answer him so he stands up and scans her face, noticing the tense frown and the way the corners of her mouth are drawn down. It's not exactly an unusual look for her but given the fact that she's standing in front of him of all people, with her stormy blue eyes piercing through his, Beck immediately knows something's up.

"Jade?"

"I need to talk to you." She doesn't give him a chance to say something as she grabs his arm and drags him into the janitor's closet. She releases him as soon as she closes the door behind them, leaning on it with her eyes closed, and draws in a breath. Beck furrows his eyebrows in confusion and takes a step closer to his ex-girlfriend. "Are you okay?"

Beck's voice makes her eyes snap open and she looks at him, seeing his face crunched up in worry and confusion. She inhales deeply and holds the air in her lungs for a second, before puffing it out.

"Aiden's here."

Beck stills and looks at her with his mouth slightly open, brows crunched together, his dark eyes narrowing into thin slits. "What? What is he doing here?"

Jade sighs and turns away from him, swinging her arms into the air. "I don't know! I came home and he was there! He told us that he took a couple of days off from college before his exams. Who the hell can just take a couple of days off from college? I mean…ugh!"

She paces around the tiny space of the closet, but stops immediately when Beck holds her in place by her arms. He knows everything about Aiden. Jade had told him the stories about Melissa and Anna, everything she saw when she was little. And he believed her. Of course he did. Jade trusted him and she still does, which is why she is coming to him now.

"Calm down." He pauses for a moment before carefully looking at Jade. "He didn't do something to you…did he?" Jade closes her eyes and sighs, shaking her head. "No, of course not. You know he wouldn't do that."

"Right," Beck mumbles as he nods his head. He looks back at the black haired girl in front of him, whose eyes were fixed on the big trashcan on their left. She's gnawing at her lip and he rubs her arms in an effort to calm her down. He doesn't really understand why she's so worked up about this though, so he decides to question her, his soothing voice bringing Jade's attention back to him. "Hey. Don't worry so much. He'll be gone again before you know it. Why are you so upset?"

Jade looks at him carefully. Should she tell him? She doesn't want to hurt him in any way, after all, she still cares about him deeply. This is the first real conversation that they had in a long time and she worries that this will ruin it again. She sees his eyes encouraging her so she takes a deep breath and just comes out with it. "I'm worried about Tori."

His hands fall from her arms at the mention of Jade's girlfriend and she hears him inhale deeply as his eyes look away from her. "You're scared he might do something to her?"

She waits for him to look back at her and then nods. Beck sighs and rubs a hand over his face. "But…she's your girlfriend, Jade. Why would he do something to her? He didn't hurt me when we were dating. Quite the opposite."

"Well, first of all: you're a guy. His…victims," she nearly chokes on the word, "were always girls. And I don't trust him, Beck. You know that when he was still living with me, I didn't bring friends with me. Only Cat, but just because I knew that he wouldn't do anything. With Tori… I'm just not so sure." Jade watches him nod and run a hand through his hair. "I'm scared for her, Beck."

The tone of her voice brings his eyes back to her and he could see the fear and distress in her bright eyes. He bites his lip and sighs deeply, putting his hands back to her arms. He's silent for a moment, searching her eyes before he begins to speak. "Don't worry. Nothing's going to happen to her, okay?"

Jade carefully nods, trying her best to believe Beck's words and feeling instantly calmer. At least for the moment. Beck smiles at her and releases her arms. "Good. Now come on, we don't wanna be late, do we?"

…

Brown eyes curiously watch as Beck and Jade arrive at Sikowitz's classroom. Together. They exchange a look and Jade even sends him a small smile before they separate, Jade walking over to the curious brunette, shooting her a smile and taking a seat beside her.

"Am I dreaming?"

Jade cocks a pierced eyebrow at Tori, who looks at her full of wonder. "What are you talking about?"

"You and Beck. You…were coming together. And you smiled at him." Tori feigns a gasp and mockingly holds a hand over her heart. Jade just rolls her eyes and smiles, tapping Tori's nose. "So? Are you jealous?"

Tori smiles cutely and raises her eyebrows. "I don't think I have a reason, do I?" She sees a smile pass over Jade's lips and continues in a more serious voice. "No, seriously. I think it's great that you two get along again. Although your…reconciliation comes a bit sudden."

Jade lets out a small laugh. "Reconciliation? You make it sound like we were at war with each other."

The brunette laughs and grabs Jade's hand to lock their fingers together. Tori watches the smile slowly slip from her girlfriend's face and notices the way she intently looks at their intertwined hands, a frown taking over Tori's features. "Hey, are you okay?"

Jade raises her head and looks into Tori's eyes, noticing the concern written on her face.

No, I'm not okay. I'm probably overreacting but I'm scared for your life because my brother is a fucking killer and his specialty is murdering pretty young girls like you.

Jade slowly smiles and shakes her head. Of course she wouldn't tell her that. She'll just not mention Aiden. That's probably the best thing she can do. Because if she would tell Tori that her brother was here, chances are high that Tori would insist on meeting him. But Jade won't let that happen. She just wouldn't.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just a little tired. I didn't sleep very well last night."

It wasn't completely a lie. She really didn't get much sleep, spending the night rolling around in bed, listening for the slightest noise and thinking about Tori.

Tori seems to be satisfied with the answer, much to the relief of Jade, and smiles at her. They sit there, talking to each other until Sikowitz comes barging through the door.

Finally, Jade thinks as she straightens up in her seat, something that can take my mind off of Aiden. At least for a little while.

…

"Hey girls!"

Andre's voice interrupts their conversation as he sits down besides Jade, busying himself with arranging his keyboard on the table. Beck slowly sits down next to Tori, shooting Jade a questioning look, silently asking if she was okay. The smile Jade gives him reassures him and he takes a bite out of his sandwich.

"Hey!" Tori says cheerfully, smiling at both Beck and Andre before her attention shifts back to Jade. "So? What do you think?" Jade bites her lip. Before Andre and Beck showed up, Tori suggested for the two of them to go to Nozu's after school. As much as she wanted to spend her time with Tori, she really couldn't blow off Aiden again today. He already wanted to spend time with her yesterday and if she would cancel today too, he would want to know why. She couldn't risk that. Jade slowly shakes her head.

"No, I…I can't today."

Tori shoots her a suspicious look but doesn't say anything. "Okay. Some other time then."

Just then, Cat comes skipping to their table, Robbie not far behind her. Squeezing herself between Andre and Jade, Cat smiles brightly at the dark haired girl next to her. "Hey! Say, why didn't you tell me that Aiden would come home, Jade?"

Her heart almost stops and her eyes snap over to Beck, whose eyes had noticeably widened as he rests his chin in his hand, before they settle on Cat. "W-what? How…how do you know he's home?"

Shit.

Thanks to Cat, her plan not to tell Tori about Aiden was flushed down the toilet. As Cat smiles innocently and plays with a strand of her bright red hair, Jade resists the urge to slap her best friend right across the face. "Oh, your mom called my mom yesterday and told her that Aiden came home yesterday."

"Who's Aiden?" Jade's heart speeds up when she hears Tori speak up beside her and she reluctantly shifts her eyes over to her. She opens her mouth but Cat beats her to it. "Oh! He's Jade's brother! You know, the one who goes to college?"

"I don't think it's necessary to point out that he's the one going to college, Cat, seeing that I only have one brother." Jade hisses and Cat slightly shrinks back. Jade feels a hand on her shoulder and turns her head towards a frowning Tori. "Hey hey, relax. Cat just wanted to be helpful."

Yeah, that was really helpful. Nevertheless, Jade feels bad for lashing out at Cat. But instead of apologizing, Jade just shrugs and scoffs, mumbling a quick "Whatever."

Tori smiles apologetically at Cat and brushes her hand down Jade's back, rubbing up and down, the frown still present on the paler girl's face. An idea suddenly pops into Tori's head and a smile brightens her features. "Hey Jade? How long is your brother staying here?" Jade looks up from her lunch and warily looks at Tori. "Why?"

Tori shrugs. "Well, you never really talked much about him and I would really like to meet him." Jade sits up straight and grits her teeth together, a muscle twitching in her jaw.

"No."

Tori furrows her eyebrows and smiles confusedly. "No?"

"You're not going to meet him." The smile slips from the brunette's face and she looks around the table, their friends silently watching them. Tori shifts her eyes back to Jade who is frowning hard, her fork forcefully picking into her salad.

"But-"

"Tori!" Jade interrupts her loudly, her eyes snapping to her and Tori wonders why she is so angry all of sudden. "You are not going to meet him, understood?" She doesn't wait for an answer. Instead, she swings her bag over her shoulder and angrily stomps into the building, leaving Tori and her confused friends behind.